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‘This will seal my fate’: Devendra Fadnavis to SC on plea to review verdict on affidavit Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to review its judgement of October last year in which the court asked the BJP leader to face trial for allegedly failing to furnish details of pending criminal cases against him in his 2014 poll affidavit. Fadnavis, through his lawyer Mukul Rohatgi, said that he did not give any false information and was wrongly prosecuted. “This will seal my fate. It is an important question as it affects Article 21 (of the...

No headway in India-U.S. trade talks With no significant movement on the India-U.S. trade negotiations yet, officials are considering taking even a modest trade deal off the table when U.S. President Donald Trump visits India on February 24-25, sources privy to the talks said. As The Hindu had reported on Friday, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lightizer was due to visit New Delhi last week, but put off the visit when it appeared there was not enough progress in the talks, that appear to have run into trouble over market access for agricultural products including dairy, liberalising e-commerce, and investment norms for retail, as well...

Brexit negotiator says UK must be able to set its own laws David Frost has set out the UK’s stance ahead of post-Brexit trade negotiations, due to start next month. He dismissed the idea an EU court would have a role in future trade disputes, saying: “We only want what other independent countries have.” It comes as France warns Britain to expect a bruising battle during talks. Acting Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: “Boris Johnson should listen to the views of British businesses who want to maintain the closest possible alignment with the European Union.” Source: BBC

Theatre commands, including for J-K, to start rolling out by 2022: Gen Rawat India could have up to five theatres and the new structures would begin “rolling out” in two years, chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat said on Monday as he disclosed the broad contours of the country’s theaterisation plans to optimally utilise the resources of the armed forces. Gen Rawat also said that India is also looking at creating a distinct theatre command for Jammu and Kashmir and integrating the western and eastern naval commands to create a Peninsular Command. Source: Hindustan Times

British MP who leads parliamentary group on Kashmir denied entry to India Indian officials denied a British lawmaker entry on Monday after she landed at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, according to an accompanying aide. Debbie Abrahams, a Labour Party Member of Parliament who chairs a parliamentary group focused on Kashmir, was unable to clear customs after her valid Indian visa was rejected, the aide, Harpreet Upal, told. Source: The Hindu

Ivanka Trump lauds Saudi Arabia, UAE on women’s rights reforms Ivanka Trump lauded Sunday a handful of Mideast countries, including close US allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, for embarking on “significant reforms” to advance women’s rights, while speaking at a gathering of women entrepreneurs and regional leaders in Dubai. The daughter of US President Donald Trump was delivering the keynote address at the two-day Global Women’s Forum held in an opulent resort overlooking the city’s Persian Gulf coastline. Source: MoneyControl

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar Wants Alcohol Ban All Over India, Says It’s Mahatma Gandhi’s Wish Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has proposed nation-wide ban on alcohol, saying it was Mahatma Gandhi’s wish. Speaking at a convention on ‘Liquor-Free India’, Kumar said Mahatma Gandhi wanted the same as alcohol destroys lives. He said that the liquor ban should not just be carried out in nearby states but all across the country. Kumar said that the alcohol-ban had earlier been imposed in Bihar by then Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur, but that it could not be implemented completely. Source: News18.com

Richard Branson reaches out to Nitin Gadkari for hyperloop NEW DELHI: Richard Branson-owned Virgin Group has reached out to transport minister Nitin Gadkari with a proposal to establish a hyperloop transportation system between New Delhi and Mumbai, after the Maharashtra government decided to shelve the company’s proposed project in the state last month. A source in the know told ET that Virgin Group has approached Gadkari—who is known for his openness to adopting new technologies—to develop a 1,300-km line between the national capital and Mumbai. Source: Economic Times

Should I quit: Manmohan asked me after Rahul ordinance episode, says Montek Singh Ahluwalia After the Rahul Gandhi ordinance-trashing episode of 2013, the then prime minister Manmohan Singh asked Montek Singh Ahluwalia whether he thought he should resign, the former deputy chairman of the now-defunct Planning Commission says. Ahluwalia says he told Singh, who was then on a visit to the US, that he did not think a resignation on this issue was appropriate. In a major embarrassment to his own government, Rahul had denounced the controversial ordinance brought by the UPA dispensation to negate a Supreme Court verdict on convicted lawmakers. He...

Justice Chandrachud: Labelling dissent as anti-national strikes at heart of democracy CALLING DISSENT the “safety valve of democracy”, Supreme Court judge Justice D Y Chandrachud on Saturday said “blanket labelling of such dissent as anti-national or anti-democratic strikes at the heart of our commitment to the protection of constitutional values and promotion of a deliberative democracy”. Speaking on “The hues that make India: From plurality to pluralism” at the 15th Justice PD Desai Memorial Lecture here, Justice Chandrachud said “employment of state machinery to curb dissent instils fear and creates a chilling atmosphere on free speech which violates the rule...